


at the death of every darkness there's a morning

by rxginamills



Category: Girl Meets World
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Zombie Apocalypse, F/F, F/M, Zombie Apocalypse, cliches exist for a reason yall and im gonna use them, this is crappy i'm upset with myself, this is probably so cliche but i don't care, this is so short??? tf i'm a disappointment
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-19
Updated: 2018-05-19
Packaged: 2019-05-06 08:46:09
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,593
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14638284
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rxginamills/pseuds/rxginamills
Summary: Their lungs burned, their eyes were filled with dirt and a taste of iron was in their mouth, all while every part of their body begged them to stop running, but hell, in this world Riley Matthews and Maya Hart would endure it all a thousand times to be with each other.





	at the death of every darkness there's a morning

**Author's Note:**

> Title from Rag N’ Bone Man’s song ”Grace”.

Maya held Riley’s hand and a bag of canned food with with the one she still had free. Their footsteps were slow and subtle. Three more pairs of people walked behind them, carrying similar pouches and bags of supplies with them while chatting with their loved ones and friends. Occasionally Maya kicked a severed walker head out of her way as she kept walking. Everything was grey and quiet apart from their voices. Someone had pressed Earth’s off-button.

This was their reality and Maya and Riley had lived it for far too long to even properly remember how their life used to be. One day they had been seniors in high school and the next they were survivors of a zombie apocalypse, holding on to their loved ones for dear life. If you had no one to trust in this world, your chances of survival were small. Other people decided they were better off without a companion. 

Maya was not one of those people. She knew she could never live without Riley, she had known it ever since she crawled in from her bedroom window - _their_ bay window - that was so unfamiliar and far away now. Maya had always loved Riley in some way, but in middle school she had realized her blossoming romantic feelings for her best friend, the other half of her very soul, and by the end of freshman year of high school she got to call Riley her girlfriend as they walked together in the halls. Sometimes she wished they had had more time to be like other couples did, to go on dates and kiss in the darkness of the cinema and lay on the couch of the Matthews home and think about how beautiful their future was going to be together. Having loved Riley for so long, she knew she would spend the rest of her life with that girl. Then everything almost literally fell apart, but the only thing that mattered was that they had each other. 

Riley’s feelings did not differ from Maya’s. It was as clear as day to her; she and Maya would never be separated as long as they lived. The rule applied in the old world and in this one too. They were never apart, maybe on a few supply runs at most. The thought of never seeing each other again frightened the girls so they held on to each other as tightly as they could. 

Riley and Maya’s families had been right behind them since day one. It was obvious that Cory, Topanga, Katy and Shawn wanted to protect their children from harm. When they were first adjusting to their new way of life, the two girls were never allowed to go on supply runs with the adults and someone was always guarding them. After a close call with Riley and a walker and an angry, teary-eyed rant from Maya, they were trained so that they could protect themselves, each other and the rest of the people in their group. The core four of the adults became leaders of some sort. People looked to them for guidance and direction when they didn't even know where they were going. 

"I'm starving," Riley said with a sigh. Maya lifted her hand to her lips.

"I know Honey. Don't worry, we'll be at camp soon and then you'll get to eat, okay?" 

"Okay," Riley whined, "Wait - what's going on? I thought this was the road home.”

Maya squinted. Twenty feet in front of them was a square gated area. Inside it was a large herd of walkers, reaching their hands out of the gaps between the gates. Her grip on Riley’s hand tightened. It didn’t take long for Riley to figure out that something was wrong. 

”Peaches, is everything — ”

”Someone set this up. They knew we’d come through here.” Maya said through gritted teeth. She followed a rope attached to one of the gates with her eyes.

”What are you _talking_ about — ”

”Girls, you gotta move!” came Cory’s yell from behind them. The rope was pulled and the gates hit the ground with a loud bang. The walkers began to make their way forward. Maya grabbed Riley from the wrist and ran to Cory and the others in their group.

”Are you okay?” he asked worriedly, scanning both his daughters from head to toe. 

”We’re fine, dad, but we need to do something about those walkers!” Riley exclaimed. 

”Someone is after our supplies because we all know how important they are in this world, these bags are our key to survival and we have to get back home.” Maya said quickly, stumbling through her words.

”How do you suggest we get out of here? I mean, before the walkers or whoever is after our catch gets us first.” asked Lucas Friar — the most loyal friend you could ever have and also the person who made Maya and Riley realize that they loved each other — and looked over Maya’s shoulder at the approaching herd. Gunshots could be heard in the distance. The entire group turned to look at Cory.

"You're our boss man. It's your call." said an elderly man. Cory was silent.

”We go through.” he then said seriously, after pondering his choice with care.

”Are you _insane_?!” a woman asked from the back of the group. 

”This is our only way home. We don’t have the time or energy to search for another way and I’m pretty sure we’ll be dead before we find one. If we want to see our families again, we go straight through.” 

Pictures of Topanga and Auggie flashed in Cory’s mind and he brushed his hand through Riley’s hair quickly. He couldn’t imagine losing his family or anyone else in their group —  he was not that kind of man. 

”Not sure I can do straight, Matthews,” came Maya’s comment. Riley rolled her eyes.

”This is not the time for jokes, Maya.” 

”Sorry.”

Then they ran. Their guns were fully loaded and sending ammunition through the walkers’ heads with every step they took closer to home. Maya and Riley didn’t let each other out of their sight. Cory tried to be everywhere at the same time, with little success. 

Riley, who had never thought in her life that she would be doing something like this, had a surge of determination running through her. After she had let go of the burning guilt of shooting these - these _creatures_ that used to be people, she had felt more powerful day by day. Maya kept her going. Their lungs burned, their eyes were filled with dirt and a taste of iron was in their mouth, all while every part of their body begged them to stop running, but hell, in this world they would endure it all a thousand times to be with each other. The thought of waking up next to her Peaches everyday made Riley see that it was all worth it and she was not about to lose that today. She was fighting for her girlfriend, her father, her mother and brother awaiting her return and the entire group. 

Her musings were cut short when she found herself out of ammo and surrounded by a group of walkers. Her eyes were lit with flames. They got closer with their arms stretched out towards her. And then - 

"Riley!" 

Maya and Lucas came running through and shot each walker surrounding her.  

"This is getting nuts," Lucas grasped for air, "But I think we have an opening."

As soon as he said this, Cory yelled out from somewhere behind them. Maya saw walkers approaching him but they were not alone. Armed men, probably the ones who had set them up for the trap, were not far behind them, clearly going for Cory's supplies and himself afterwards. Maya looked back into Riley's eyes for a moment, locking out the entire world even when she knew it was something she didn't have time for. 

"You need to go." Maya then said. Riley's eyes went wide.

"What?" Her heart was beating fast in her chest now, too fast, but it was irrelevant to her. Maya's words rang in her head and she couldn't make them stop. Lucas looked equally as shocked. 

"We have an opening and you need to leave. Lucas will take you out of here." 

"Maya, I'm not weak, I can fight them!" Riley exclaimed angrily. Tears were pooling in her eyes much faster than she liked. 

"I know that and that's exactly why you're going back, because your mom and my mom and _everyone_ needs you. If anyone can look after them, it's you. I need to help your dad." Maya explained. 

"Why do you always have to be the hero?! I'm _not_ leaving you!" 

More gunshots could be heard. Familiar voices joined Cory. Someone was trying to help him but it would soon be useless. Maya shut her eyes, "Matthews doesn't have much time left." 

"Riley's right, we're not going." Lucas said. Something in Maya snapped. She grabbed him from the collar of his shirt and slammed him against the side of an abandoned car.

"Goddamn it Lucas, you owe me this! You're taking Riley back to camp or you'll die trying, do you understand? You will keep her _SAFE_!" 

Maya's voice was angry now. She looked much like a wild tiger or something else of the sort. Lucas knew that he would have to do as she wished; he had never been able to say no to either of the girls and it would shatter him if something happened to Riley. He took her arm, startling her. 

"Come on, Riley."

She began to fight back immediately, "No! Lucas, let me go! Don't do this!" 

"Thank you." Maya whispered.

"No! No! Maya, please, I can't lose you - "

Maya felt her heart shatter, "You won't lose me Honey, I will see you again, I promise! There is no place you can go that I won't follow, okay? You gotta go now, you gotta go!" 

Lucas pulled Riley with him, holding a gun in one hand. His supply bag was hanging from his wrist. He was surprised at the amount of strength that she was putting into fighting his grip even though she knew he was stronger than her. 

"I love you Riley!" 

Riley let out a long, loud, painful wail in response. No words would be detected; it was a scream that tore her throat apart. Tears were pouring down on her cheeks and it hurt Maya and Lucas equally as much. 

Maya walked a few steps backwards, keeping her eyes on Riley, and then turned around to run to Cory's aid. She disappeared from sight very quickly. Riley's strength was running out and her movement turned slower with every hit she aimed at Lucas. He only paid attention to one thing: getting her to safety. She didn't love him - she and Maya were meant to be and now that he knew it he wouldn't go between it - but he loved her with everything he had. 

By the time they reached their camp, Riley had stopped fighting completely. She had cried silently for the last two miles of their way back. As they entered the building they were now using as their home, several sets of footsteps could be heard. Topanga ran downstairs to find her daughter with Lucas.

"Riley! Lucas!" she exclaimed and went to embrace them both. Behind her came Farkle and Smackle who were also relieved at their return. 

"What happened? Where's Cory? And Maya? What about the rest of you?" Topanga asked frantically. Riley leaned her head in her mother's chest and let out a sob. 

"Maya?" Katy's voice echoed around the room as she, too, ran down the stairs. Shawn was not far behind. Katy heard Topanga mention her daughter's name and came to see if her wishes were true; if her daughter was back home safe. 

"Maya's - she - she stayed behind," Lucas' voice cracked. 

"What do you mean 'stayed behind'? They all should've been back by now, where's my daughter?" Katy demanded. Riley lifted her head and looked at Katy. The blonde woman gasped at her bloodshot eyes.

"We were ambushed. Someone set up a trap for us because they wanted our supplies. We were fighting this large herd of walkers and dad got in trouble. Maya stayed to save him and she," - sob - "She told Lucas to bring me back here and I don't know if I'm seeing either of them ever again and mom I love her so much - " 

Riley knelt on the floor and sobbed yet again. Topanga was shaking from head to toe. She had no confirmation on whether or not the love of her life, the one person she had fought and given everything for, the father of her children, was ever coming back to her. Shawn held the trembling Katy in his arms. They had both experienced too much loss in their lives, they refused to lose their daughter. 

Smackle went down to Riley's level and took her in her arms. She brushed her fingers through Riley's soft hair and hugged her. Riley held on to Smackle for dear life. She had a motherly, kind warmth to her and Riley, alongside everyone in the room, knew that Smackle and Farkle would've undoubtedly been the best parents a child could have. Such a pity that it was much more difficult for them to achieve that dream now. 

Back at the fight scene, Maya and a few others had ran to help Cory. The walkers were easy to get out of their way, the armed men not so much. Unlike the walkers, they fought back and had much more physical strength. Maya was not afraid to show her own. Her anger and burning determination to get back to Riley were fuelling her will to fight. No one was a match for her when Riley's love ran through her veins. 

Cory got to witness this firsthand. Maya made her way to him and helped him up from the ground. They were both bruised and bloody and had lost half of their supplies but they were alive and that in itself was a thing to hold on to. A muscular man walked up to the two of them threateningly, carrying a bloodied crowbar. It repulsed Cory and Maya to think how many lives it had taken. He laughed a menacing laugh, causing Maya to almost growl like the tiger that she felt like. 

"Oooh, the kitten has claws. How about we get to know each other a lil bit. I'm Greg. Who's this?" the man pointed to Cory, "Your daddy?" 

Maya gripped a metallic pipe behind her back, "My father-in-law."

(Cory smiled at those words, and it was a genuine smile, one that was hard to get out of him these days.)

Then Maya swung the pipe at Greg's face as hard as she could. He fell back and clutched his face, which now possessed a huge gnash. 

"SON OF A BITCH - " 

The fighting continued, but proved to be useless for Greg and his men. Cory's people were victorious and for the first time in hours, it was completely silent. Not a single life had been lost on their side, and what a miracle it was. They all collapsed on the side of the road, chests rising and falling heavily. Their group had included two couples - Riley and Maya and a pair consisting of a woman in her thirties called Shayla and her husband - but now there was only one and they hugged each other in the relief of still being together. Everyone was too tired to move a limb even though they probably should have; it was unlikely that the sound of the fight hadn't alarmed anyone. 

"Who still has at least a bit of their supplies?" Cory asked as he stared at the sky. Four of the five people he wad addressing raised their hands. He exhaled in relief. Their group of eight had reduced to six when Lucas and Riley left but it didn't make them any less epic; the cost was their exhaustion, but god, they'd make it back to their families and have supplies to share. 

"Matthews…" Maya breathed, "About what I called you, I… I hope you know that I would've married Riley if all this hadn't happened."

Cory chuckled, "I think you've been married to Riley for a long time." 

Her eyes widened, "So - so you'd be cool with it?"

"You're a part of my family, Maya, of course I'd be cool with it."  

Maya began smiling brighter than the sun trying to shine its light through the clouds. She fiddled with her hands, "I have this ring in my pocket that I want to give her, it was my grandmother's, so I just - I wanted you to know."

"Thank you," Cory said and then turned so that he was laying on his side, "What do you say, folks? Ready to go home?"

A chorus of yeses answered him and they got up from the ground, finally starting their trip back to camp. They walked slowly, the burning sensation in their legs being the reason why, and said nothing. It was more than enough. Every step Maya took was closer to Riley and it was all she needed to push on. Cory's thoughts were with his children and his wife, who were all anxiously awaiting if they'd come back. 

Topanga, Riley, Katy and Shawn all sat in front of the front door, simply looking at it and holding hands with each other. They refused to believe that the people they loved were gone to them forever. 

(Maya had promised, and Riley held on to it.)

"Cory is my soulmate," Topanga moaned quietly as her fourth hour in front of the door came to pass. They had regularly been to the bathroom and eaten food but it never took them long to return to their spot. 

"I love him so much," Topanga continued, "From the moment I escaped Pittsburgh to be with him I knew I'd follow him anywhere and now…" 

She trailed off and wiped her tears on her sleeve and whispered, "Please come home to me."

Riley's mind was repeating Maya's name over and over again, _Maya Maya Maya Maya_ , it wouldn't stop, but she didn't want it to stop. She wanted to remember that name and that girl for the rest of her life, _Maya Maya Maya Maya Maya,_ because it might as well have been the only thing she'd have left of her. She shouldn't have been surprised, because doing what she did was so Maya. So selfless. She had basically offered her life so that Cory could be saved. There was no better description of her heart - always ready to give so much for someone else. 

"Maya is _my_ soulmate," Riley said and then looked to Katy, "Thank you for bringing her to me."

Katy grasped her hand, "Thank _you_ , for loving my… my baby girl." her voice cracked slightly.

If Katy and Shawn weren't silent, they were whispering prayers. Shawn was not the religious type, and he wondered if God was as good as everyone made him out to be if he let the world he so loved turn into what it was today, but Katy believed with her heart that he would bring Maya back, and so Shawn prayed, because he could never deny the woman he loved anything. 

Just as he was about to start the same prayer for the millionth time over, the door creaked. The four of them immediately jumped up. Auggie's head popped up from the staircase curiously. The door opened fully and Cory was the first to step in, smiling exhaustedly through the grit and dirt. Topanga let out a cry and leapt into his arms. She began to sob instantly and clawed at everything she could touch; his hair, his shirt, his skin. It was Cory, her Cory, real and in the flesh. 

The next person to walk in was Maya. Tears appeared in her eyes as soon as she saw Riley, who screamed. She slammed her body against Maya's and held on to her as if she would disappear the second she let go. she felt Maya's hands tangle in the fabric of her shirt. They had never been closer, physically or emotionally. They were both crying and as Maya hesitatingly pulled back, Riley swept her into a kiss. 

"You're so stupid," Riley cried and gave Maya a kiss between each word, "You're so so stupid!" 

Maya laughed through her tears, "I told you there was no place I wouldn't follow you." 

They stayed there for a few more seconds but they felt like eternity to them. Then Maya moved into her parents' embrace as Cory swirled Riley around in the air multiple times. Topanga greeted Shayla and the others streaming through the door. Auggie ran down the stairs to hug his father. 

"I have no idea what happened down there but never do that again, please and thank you," Topanga said as she kissed Maya's head and then Cory's lips repeatedly, "I love you."

"I love you too."

Maya smiled at them and took Riley's hand, "I love you Riley."

Riley leaned her head on Maya's shoulder and for a split second they were high school Riley and Maya, sitting in the same position at their bay window. Together. 

"I love you too Peaches. Please never leave me again."

Maya played with the ring in her pocket. 

"I promised you, didn't I?"

 

**Author's Note:**

> The zombie apocalypse au one shot no one asked for but I desperately wanted to write. You’re welcome. I love these soulmates aka Riley Matthews and Maya Hart.


End file.
